Age of Empires: Definitive Edition

No idea how this slipped past me... looks really promising! an actual remake with 3d graphics instead of a "remaster" I'm pretty stoked about this. Comes out very soon, February 20th and it's only $24 NZD - unfortunately only via Microsoft Store and not Steam (yet?)

The game's a little over $20, it's a small DL size so if the infamous MS store 're-download' bug comes up, it's not a big deal, the MS store, while shit compared to the competition, is still serviceable and you can just add it as a 3rd party game on Steam if you want the in-game overlay. It's hard to find a practical reason for any boycott.

It's cool if you're in it for SP. Good luck playing this if you're hoping for an active MP community, Windows Store is cancer that many PC gamers just don't want to put up with. They're REALLY shooting themselves in the foot not releasing this onto Steam.

The game's a little over $20, it's a small DL size so if the infamous MS store 're-download' bug comes up, it's not a big deal, the MS store, while shit compared to the competition, is still serviceable and you can just add it as a 3rd party game on Steam if you want the in-game overlay. It's hard to find a practical reason for any boycott.

Not a boycott, I just have no reason to go to the MS store, so I won't see it when I'm in a buying mood. Besides, there's still so much I haven't done in AoE2 yet, so there's no hurry.

It's cool if you're in it for SP. Good luck playing this if you're hoping for an active MP community, Windows Store is cancer that many PC gamers just don't want to put up with. They're REALLY shooting themselves in the foot not releasing this onto Steam.

If it was released onto steam, it'd just be front-loader for the Windows Store like what Ubisoft is doing with Uplay anyway. If you added it onto steam as a 'non-steam game' you'd get exactly what they would've delivered if it released on Steam.

Besides which, even if we'd presume that MS got their act together, the MP of AoE1 would still be very, very small. MP balance was not AoE1's forte, and I don't think any amount of re-balancing patches will save it. Plus it seems from a glance they didn't bother putting the QoL stuff from AoE2 in, like gates and auto-farms, which will drive most new players away.

Not a boycott, I just have no reason to go to the MS store, so I won't see it when I'm in a buying mood. Besides, there's still so much I haven't done in AoE2 yet, so there's no hurry.

Fair enough, it's just that people who post that typically come at it from a "I'm boycotting this game until Windows Store is dead" angle, which is just so unlikely to happen.

If it was released onto steam, it'd just be front-loader for the Windows Store like what Ubisoft is doing with Uplay anyway. If you added it onto steam as a 'non-steam game' you'd get exactly what they would've delivered if it released on Steam.

Not true. If they wanted to put the game on Steam they'd have to port it from UWP to Win32. This is exactly what they did for Halo Wars: Definitive Edition, Killer Instinct 2013 and Quantum Break. The smoking gun is found when you check the system requirements for these games on Steam to find they all support Windows 7 + DX11.

Killer Instinct has cross-platform MP between Steam (Win32), Win Store (UWP) and Xb1. Similarly Rise of Nations: Extended Edition was ported from Win32 to UWP and has cross-plat MP between Steam and Win Store.

Not true. If they wanted to put the game on Steam they'd have to port it from UWP to Win32. This is exactly what they did for Halo Wars: Definitive Edition, Killer Instinct 2013 and Quantum Break. The smoking gun is found when you check the system requirements for these games on Steam to find they all support Windows 7 + DX11.

Killer Instinct has cross-platform MP between Steam (Win32), Win Store (UWP) and Xb1. Similarly Rise of Nations: Extended Edition was ported from Win32 to UWP and has cross-plat MP between Steam and Win Store.

MS don't want that though, they want Steam to support the UWP (read:MS Store) platform for their games, thus the quote on PC Gamer.

"Before selling on another store front, we want to make sure customers have the best experience, and other store fronts need to fully support Windows 10 before we bring Age of Empires: Definitive Edition over,"

From MS's point of view, they've likely seen what Ubi does and want the same arrangement.

PressPass: You mentioned it before, but what is Games for Windows – LIVE, exactly?

Unangst: Games for Windows – LIVE is the Windows counterpart to our Xbox LIVE online gaming and entertainment network for Windows XP and Windows Vista. PC gamers can now easily find, connect and communicate with other gamers on Windows or Xbox 360, have great multiplayer experiences, and enjoy a consistent experience and simplicity of use that Xbox gamers also enjoy – and since LIVE is a unified service, gamers can use the same gamertag, profile and friends list across both our gaming platforms.

and here's what's said in the PC Gamer article...

"We’ve chosen to release Age of Empires: Definitive Edition in the Windows Store and we’re excited about what that entails, including tons of Xbox Live goodness (achievements, cloud saves, multiplayer on the fastest, more reliable gaming network and more)," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement.

"Offering games like Quantum Break, Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, Halo Wars 2, and more in our Store has already improved both the Store and Windows 10 by accelerating support for features like unlocked frame rate, and making the overall consumer experience better. Competition on the PC is good for the industry and good for gamers, it drives innovation and more value for customers."

It's like they have a book full of quotes just lying around that they re-jig every decade or so.

Still looks like it's just a coat of paint, would love some of the AoE2+ controls like formations, gates and garrisons, but I don't think they're looking to change it that much (check out the units still moving in 8-directional sprite rotations)

MS don't want that though, they want Steam to support the UWP (read:MS Store) platform for their games, thus the quote on PC Gamer.

From MS's point of view, they've likely seen what Ubi does and want the same arrangement.

When they see this game failing to move many copies + community demand for mod support grows then they'll be more likely to port to Win32 + Steam. Your mod support is limited if not non-existent when your file formats are encrypted like it is with UWP.

When they see this game failing to move many copies + community demand for mod support grows then they'll be more likely to port to Win32 + Steam. Your mod support is limited if not non-existent when your file formats are encrypted like it is with UWP.

IDK, the way I believe MS is thinking, it isn't about moving copies of the game itself as much as moving copies of W10. Again, look at MS Rep's quotes on the PC Gamer article. The majority of Steam's userbase is on W7 and in their view they need to convert these customers to W10 - if game sales are good as well then that's a secondary benefit. Microsoft seem to have doubled-down a lot on the MS store since, say Quantum Break came out.

Now, do I believe that's short-sighted? Absolutely, but I can see the intent behind such a move.

Does this really matter? I mean, I use my outlook.com account for Windows 10 anyway. Since it auto sets up my onedrive, profile settings, and email for me etc. So it automatically ties the store to this account. Perhaps it's more annoying if you don't use a MS account.

Did you read the thread? If you want for there to be an actual Multiplayer community to develop you need to be on a software delivery service which is actually popular and/or NOT on one which a large segment of your target audience actively go out of their way to avoid.
If you want there to be actual mod support, you may very well need to have your game running on a software API where the files aren't encrypted.

If all you care about is playing vanilla SP campaigns, skirmishes and MP with established friends then it should be perfectly fine.

yeah I didn't realize you can't start Farms straight away lol need to build a Granary and then advance 1 age and then build a Market

I'm having a blast though, playing at Normal speed and just taking my time, pretty much playing it like Banished lol - not gonna bother with Online I think, prefer taking my time and building a sweet empire.